Published every Three Months. Sponsored
by an International Group of Theosophists.
Objectives: To uphold and promote the Original Principles of the modern
Theosophical Movement, and to disseminate the teachings of the Esoteric
Philosophy as set
forth by H.P. Blavatsky and her Teachers.
Editor: Boris de Zirkoff.
Subscriptions: $1.50 a year (four issues); single copy 40 cents. Send all
subscriptions, renewals and correspondence to: 615 South Oxford Avenue, Los
Angeles 5, California.
Make checks and money orders payable to "Theosophia."

None of the organized Theosophical Societies, as such, are responsible
for any ideas expressed in this magazine, unless contained in an official
document. The Editor is responsible for unsigned articles only.

*

THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER ...

"In every organization, once the original impulse has seemed to
lessen when the original founders have died and even those who knew them
have likewise left the world here below, there then comes a time of greatest
testing, a real choice or parting of the ways. Either there is fear of
change, a tendency to create dogmas from which a creed may arise, a general
stifling of individual effort, all leading to orthodoxy and a decline
in usefulness and vitality. Or there can be a courageous and independent
move forward to new frontiers, a breaking of new ground and the discovery
of new heights and depths in the Eternal search for Truth ... The past
has to be brought into the present and become the springboard from which
we may dive into the challenge of the future. We must know our world
and not be in doubt about the dangers with which it is threatened today.
We must try to see where certain trends are leading and not butt our
heads against walls of immovable opposition or old-fashioned delusions."

*

"We look forward to a period, when all Over the Theosophical world,
members of the larger Movement seek ways and means of holding out the
hand of friendship to one another. Since freedom of thought for oneself
is the hallmark of all true theosophists, we should, if we are both honest
and forgiving, be able to take a long step towards the kind of 'federal'
activity which has been suggested recently by more than one of our members.
There could be no greater token of our sense of responsibility that we
can offer to our great Founders than that for all of us brotherhood and
its practice outweigh any divergences of 'doctrine' that in the past
tended to divide the very people who have been called upon to set a good
example to those around them. Let us in 1975 - the beginning of a new
century - draw closer to fellow theosophists of all groups in friendliness
and appreciation and to our fellow human beings wherever we may be." -
John B. S. Coats. President, The Theosophical Society (Adyar), in The
Theosophist for February and March, 1975. [3]

*

WHAT OF THE FUTURE?Boris de Zirkoff

In this year of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Five, The Theosophical
Society marks its One Hundredth Anniversary.

Against the background of its inception and development, a few thoughts
concerning its present status and viability seem to be in order.

The fragmented nature of the organized movement, though based upon reasons
which to some students appear to be valid, is nevertheless a strong evidence
of a lack of Universality and is contrary to that Universal Brotherhood
which its first and foremost object unequivocally states.

Its second declared object is a study of comparative religions and philosophies
a field of endeavor which has had in our century a world-wide development
and which is pursued today by eminent scholars all over the globe. While
having given a strong original impetus to this sort of study, the Theosophical
Society cannot be considered as a leading exponent of it now. As to its
third object, the study of the psycho-spiritual potencies and latent
powers of man, the organized movement has no scientific approach or systematic
investigation to offer, and has, for one reason or another, overlooked
it almost entirely.

In connection with this third object, the Theosophical Society is experiencing
its gravest danger, as it faces a world in which paranormal, parapsychological,
psychic and mediumistic phenomena are increasing by leaps and bounds
and often produce sufficient mental and emotional confusion to affect
some lodges and individuals with their psychic effluvia.

In the last analysis, tile present-day Theosophical Organizations are
not the unified and spiritually-oriented power which was intended by
the original Founders to be an irresistible challenge to the materialism
of the age.

What then of the future, and what of the second century?

A change of climate is demanded by the condition of the patient.

The principle and especially the practice of a genuine Universal Brotherhood
must become a far greater force throughout the length and breadth of
the organized movement than it is today. Sectarian attitudes, deep-seated
prejudices and entrenched dogmatism must give way to mutual understanding
and sympathy. Personal ambitions and the worship of personalities must
be forgotten in the realization of our common origin and destiny, and
our "togetherness" on the journey we have undertaken towards
a nobler future for all mankind.

As to the dangers of rampant psychism, the only way to overcome it,
or to face the effects of its lethal smog, is to become proficient in
the teachings of the Esoteric Philosophy, to understand what the tenets
of the Ancient Wisdom actually are, and to encourage a consistent study
of them. This will provide all of us with a touchstone for the appraisal
of the confused ideas, visions and mediumistic lucubrations that are
thrown at us these days from innumerable sources by well-meaning but
often erratic people.

The future of the Theosophical Society depends primarily upon us all. [4]

*

FROM MADAME H. P. BLAVATSKY TO HER CORRESPONDENTSAn Open Letter Such as Few Can Write

[Excerpts from one of the earliest articles
written by H. P. Blavatsky at the beginning of her literary career. It
was published in The Spiritual Scientist, Boston,
Vol. III, September 23, 1875, pp. 25-27, under the above title which must
have been selected by the Editor of the journal. This Editor was Elbridge
Gerry Brown, a promising young man who, according to Col. H. S. Olcott, "has
been taken under the favour of the powers behind H.P.B." Instructions
were sent by Master Serapis Bey that Brown was to be helped both financially
and by articles for his journal. The latter functioned for a while as the
organ of H.P.B.'s attempt to reform American Spiritualism, by awakening it
to the need of a more profound occult philosophy. Brown did not live up to
expectations and the whole effort collapsed in 1878. - Editor]

... Unless one is prepared to devote to it his whole life, the superficial
knowledge of Occult Science will lead him surely to become the target
for millions of ignorant scoffers to aim their blunderbusses, loaded
with ridicule and chaff, against. Besides this, it is in more than one
way dangerous to select this science as a mere pastime. One must bear
forever in mind the impressive fable of Oedipus, and beware of the same
consequences. Oedipus unriddled but one-half of the enigma offered him
by the Sphinx, and caused its death; the other half of the mystery avenged
the death of the symbolic monster, and forced the King of Thebes to prefer
blindness and exile in his despair, rather than face what he did not
feel himself pure enough to encounter. He unriddled the man, the form,
and had forgotten God - the idea.

If a man would follow in the steps of Hermetic philosophers, he must
prepare himself beforehand for martyrdom. He must give up personal pride
and all selfish purposes, and be ready for everlasting encounters with
friends and foes. He must part, once for all, with every remembrance
of his earlier ideas, of all and on everything. Existing religions, knowledge,
science must re-become a blank book for him, as in the days of his babyhood,
for if he wants to succeed he must learn a new alphabet on the lap of
Mother Nature, every letter of which will afford a new insight to him,
every syllable and word all unexpected revelation. The two hitherto irreconcilable
foes, science. and theology - the Montecchi and Capuletti of the
nineteenth century - will ally themselves with the ignorant masses, against
the modern Occultist. If we have outgrown the age of stakes, we are in
the heyday, per contra, of slander, the venom of the press, and
all these mephitic venticelli of calumny, so vividly expressed
by the immortal Don Basilio. To science, it will be the duty, and sterile
as a matter of course, of the Cabalist to prove that from the beginning
of time there was but one positive science - Occultism; that it was the
mysterious lever of all intellectual forces, the Tree of Knowledge of
good and evil of the Allegorical Paradise, from whose gigantic trunk
sprang in every direction boughs, branches and twigs, the former shooting
forth straight enough at first, the latter, deviating with every inch
of growth, assuming more and more fantastical appearances, till at last,
one after the other, lost its vital juice, got deformed, and, drying
up, finally broke [5] off, scattering the ground afar with heaps
of rubbish. To theology, the Occultist of the future will have to demonstrate,
that the Gods of the mythologies, the Elohim of Israel as well as the
religious, and theological mysteries of Christianity, to begin with the
Trinity, sprang from the sanctuaries of Memphis and Thebes; that their
mother Eve is but the spiritualized Psyche of old, both of them paying
a like penalty for their curiosity, descending to Hades or Hell, the
latter to bring back to earth the famous Pandora's box - the former,
to search out and crush the head of the serpent - symbol of time and
evil; the crime of both expiated by the Pagan Prometheus and the Christian
Lucifer: the first, delivered by Hercules - the second conquered by the
Saviour.

Furthermore, the Occultist will have to prove to the
Christian theology, publicly, what many of its priesthood are well aware
of in secret - namely, that their God on earth was a Cabalist, the meek
representative of a tremendous Power, which if misapplied, might shake
the world to its foundations; and that, of all their evangelical symbols,
there is not one but can be traced up to its parent fount. For instance,
their incarnated Verbum or Logos was worshiped at his birth by the three
Magi, led on by the star, and received from them the gold, the frankincense
and myrrh, the whole of which is simply an excerpt from the Cabala our
modern theologians despise, and the representation of another and still
more mysterious "Ternary"*
(* The Ternarius or Ternary, the symbol of perfection in antiquity, and
the Star, the Cabalistic sign of the Microcosm.) embodying allegorically
in its emblems, the highest secrets of the Cabala.

A clergy, whose main object ever has been to make of their Divine Cross
the gallows of Truth, and Freedom, could not do otherwise than try and
bury in oblivion the origin of that same cross, which, in the most primitive
symbols of the Egyptians' magic, represents the key to Heaven. Their
anathemas are powerless in our days, the multitude is wiser; but the
greatest danger awaits us just in the latter direction, if we do not
succeed in making the masses remain at least neutral - till they come
to know better - in this forthcoming conflict between Truth, Superstition
and Presumption; or, to, express it in other terms, Occult Spiritualism,
Theology and Science. We have to fear neither the miniature thunderbolts
of the clergy, nor the unwarranted negations of Science. But Public Opinion,
this invisible, intangible, omnipresent, despotic tyrant; this thousand-headed
Hydra - the more dangerous for being composed of individual mediocrities
- is not an enemy to be scorned by any would-be Occultist, courageous
as he may be. Many of the far more innocent Spiritualists have left their
sheepskins in the clutches of this ever-hungry, roaring lion - for he
is the most dangerous of our three classes of enemies. What will be the
fate in such a case, of an unfortunate Occultist, if he once succeeds
in demonstrating the close relationship existing between the two? The
masses of people, though they do not generally appreciate the science
of truth, or have real knowledge, on the other hand are unerringly directed
by mere instinct; they have intuitionally - if I may be allowed to express
myself - the sense of what is formidable in its [6] genuine strength.
People will never conspire except against real Power. In their blind
ignorance, the Mysteries and the Unknown have been, and ever will be,
objects of terror for them. Civilization may progress, human nature will
remain the same throughout all ages. Occultists, beware!

Let it be understood, then, that I address myself but to the truly courageous
and persevering. Besides the danger expressed above, the difficulties
to becoming a practical Occultist in this country, are next to insurmountable.
Barrier upon barrier, obstacles in every form and shape will present
themselves to the student; for the Keys of the Golden Gate leading to
the Infinite Truth, lie buried deep, and the gate itself is enclosed
in a mist which clears up only before the ardent rays of implicit Faith.
Faith alone, one grain of which as large as a mustard-seed, according
to the words of Christ, can lift a mountain, is able, to find out how
simple becomes the Cabala to the initiate, once he has succeeded in conquering
the first abstruse difficulties. The dogma of it is logical, easy and
absolute. The necessary union of ideals and signs; the trinity of words,
letters, numbers and theorems; the religion of it can be compressed into
a few words; "It is the Infinite condensed in the hand of an infant," says
Eliphas Levi. Ten ciphers, 22 alphabetical letters, one triangle, a square
and a circle. Such are the elements of the Cabala, from whose mysterious
bosom sprang all the religions of the past and present; which endowed
all the Free Masonic associations with their symbols and secrets, which
alone can reconcile human reason with God and Faith, Power with Freedom,
Science with Mystery, and which has alone the keys of the present, past
and future.

The first difficulty for the aspirant lies in the utter impossibility
of his comprehending, as I said before, the meaning of the best books
written by Hermetic Philosophers. The latter, who mainly lived in the
mediaeval ages, prompted on the one hand by their duty towards their
brethren, and by their desire to impart to them and their successors
only, the glorious truths, and on the other very naturally desirous to
avoid the clutches of the blood-thirsty Christian Inquisition, enveloped
themselves more than ever in mystery. They invented new signs and hieroglyphs,
renovated the ancient symbolical language of the high priests of antiquity,
who had used it as a sacred barrier between their holy rites and die
ignorance of the profane, and created a veritable Cabalistic slang. This
latter, which continually blinded the false neophyte, attracted towards
the science only by his greediness for wealth and power which he would
have surely misused were he to succeed, is a living, eloquent, clear
language; but it is and can become such, only to the true disciple of
Hermes.

But were it even otherwise, and could books on Occultism, written in
a plain and precise language, be obtained, in order to get initiated
in the Cabala, it would not be sufficient to understand and meditate
on certain authors. Galatinus and Pico della Mirandola, Paracelsus and
Robertus de Fluctibus do not furnish one with the key to the practical
mysteries. They simply state what can be done and why it is done; but
they do not tell one how to do it. More than one philosopher who has
by heart the whole of the Hermetic literature, [7] and who has
devoted to the study of it upwards of thirty or forty years of his life,
fails when he believes he is about reaching the final great result ...

To fervent and persevering candidates for the above science, I have
to offer but one word of advise, "Try and become." One single
journey to the Orient, made in the proper spirit, and the possible emergencies
arising from the meeting of what may seem no more than the chance acquaintances
and adventures of any traveler, may quite as likely as not throw wide
open to the zealous student, the heretofore closed doors of the final
mysteries. I will go farther and say that such a journey, performed with
the omnipresent idea of the one object, and with the help of a fervent
will is sure to produce more rapid, better, and far more practical results,
than the most diligent study of Occultism in books - even though one
were to devote to it dozens of years. In the name of Truth, Yours,

H. P. Blavatsky

*

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO

VI

Some of the events in H.P.B.'s life during the year 1875 are not as
clear as we would like them to be, owing either to lack of documentary
evidence or to somewhat ambiguous statements made in regard to them.

In May or June of that year, to quote the words of Col.
Olcott, "a
certain wonderful psycho-physiological change happened to H.P.B. that
I am not at liberty to speak about, and that nobody has up to the present
suspected ..." (Old Diary Leaves, I, 17.). No additional
information concerning this matter has ever came to light.

From a statement in The Spiritual Scientist (June
10, 1875, p. 166.), it would appear that H.P.B.'s condition in regard
to her injured leg reached a final crisis at about this time. "For
several hours her attendants thought her dead, as she lay as cold, pulse
less, and rigid as a corpse; her injured limb had swollen to twice the
natural size, and had turned black, as though mortification had already
set in. Her physician gave her up as dead; but within a few hours the
swelling had subsided, the symptoms of dissolution had passed off, and
she revived ..." It would be natural to suppose that her recovery
was due to some specific occult help on the part of her Teacher.

Sometime in July, H.P.B. joined Col. Olcott in Boston where they were
guests of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Houghton, he being a well-known lawyer
in that city; hey lived for a while in the suburb of Roxbury.

It was in June of 1875 that H.P.B. wrote her powerful
and important article entitled "A Few Questions to 'Hiraf"'
(Spir. Scientist,
July 15 and 22, 1875.), which she called "My first Occult Shot" and
indicated it as being "Shot No. I - Written by H.P.B. by express
orders from S* ..." (* See her Scrapbook, 1, pp. 41 and 45.). The
full background of the "Hiraf" Club and of this article is
outlined in her Collected Writings, Vol. I, pp. 95-119.).

Sometime in late Summer, possibly [8] in early August, H.P.B.
moved to New York and took rooms at 46 Irving Place, a house which does
not exist any longer. There is some indication that she may have already
started writing some text for a future book - later to become Isis
Unveiled - but this is somewhat uncertain.

We are now on the eve of the formation of the Theosophical Society,
a climacteric moment concerning which information is not as definite
as some people believe. It is thought by some that the gathering at H.P.B.'s
rooms in New York, on Tuesday, September 7, 1875, was the first one.

This, however, is all error. In H.P.B.'s Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp.
54-55, there is a cutting front a weekly journal, The Liberal Christian,
of Saturday, September 4th, 1875, which consists of an article entitled "Rosicrucianism
in New York." It is unsigned but is known to have been written by
the Rev. Dr. J. H. Wiggin, the Editor of that Journal. Starting with
a superficial survey of Rosicrucian ideas, Dr. Wiggin goes on to relate
the circumstances under which he had recently met H. P. Blavatsky. He
says: "It was just after Col. Olcott's astounding stories in the Sun about
the floral gifts received from the spirits through a Boston medium [Mrs.
Thayer], that I was kindly bidden by my friend, Mr. Sotheran, of the American
Bibliopolist, to meet with Madame and the Colonel the following evening
in Irving Place; with permission to bring some friends ..." According
to Dr. Wiggin, there were present at this gathering: Col. Olcott, Il
Conte, "the secretary once of Mazzini," Charles Sotheran,
Judge M. of New Jersey, his wife; Mr. M., a Boston gentleman, and H.P.B.,
who, he says, was "the center of the group." It is to this
cutting in her Scrapbook that H.P.B. appended the following remarks
in pen and ink: "Written by Rev. Dr. Wiggin. This article provoked
the wrath of Rev. Dr. Bellows; hence he wrote another one, on 'Sorcery
and Necromancy' and pitched into us." H.P.B. then drew a blue line
from the title along the cutting to the bottom on the right edge of page
55 and added in pen and ink the following significant remarks: "On
that evening the first idea of the Theos. Society was discussed."

As no mention of any such gathering occurs in The
Liberal Christian of
Saturday, August 28th, it is likely that it took place sometime between
August 28th and September 4th. Col. Olcott mentions this earlier gathering
(O.D.L., I, 114-15.), but gives no date, merely saying that it
took place "during the previous week."

There seems to no reason, however, to doubt the fact
that the actual formation of the Theosophical Society took place on September
7th, 1875, even though, in Col. Olcott's own words "no official
memorandum exists of the persons actually present on that particular
evening," and "no
official record by the Secretary of the attendance at this first meeting
survives " (op. cit., pp. 114, 118.).

We must bear in mind that Col. Olcott, when writing the First Series
of his Old Diary Leaves, did so from memory, as his Diaries of
the period 1874-78 had mysteriously disappeared. Speaking of the gathering
on September 7th, he says that during the animated discussion which followed
Felt's [9]

[Facsimile of handwritten document
concerning first meeting of the proposed T.S., signed by William Judge
as "Secretary."][10]

lecture, ..." the idea occurred to me [Olcott]
that it would be a good thing to form a society to pursue and promote
such occult research, and, after turning it over in my mind, I wrote
on a scrap of paper the following: 'Would it not be a good thing to form
a Society for this kind of study?' - and gave it to Judge, at the moment
standing between me and H.P.B., sitting opposite, to pass over to her.
She read it and nodded assent (O.D.L., I, 117-18.).

[Facsimile here of note about receiving "orders" to establish
a society.]

On the other hand, Annie Besant, writing in Lucifer (Vol.
XII, April, 1893, p. 105.) about the formation of the T.S., said that "...
she [H.P.B.] has told me herself how her Master bade her found it, and
how at His bidding she wrote the suggestion of starting it on a slip
of paper and gave it to W. Q. Judge to pass to Colonel Olcott; and then
the Society had its first beginning ..."

Both of these accounts may be partially correct and
partially somewhat confused. One thing is definite enough, namely the
fact that the formation of the Society was already "in the air," so
to say, a considerable time prior to the gathering at which it was first
broached. This is conclusively shown by H.P.B.'s "Important Note" written
in her own hand and pasted in her Scrapbook, Vol. I, pp. 20-21, which
closes with this statement: "M .'. brings orders to form
a Society - a secret Society like the Rosicrucian Lodge. He promises
to help." (See Collected
Writings, Vol. I, p. 73, and ill. facing p. 80.) It is also evident
from a most important pen-and-ink notation which H.P.B. made at the bottom
of a page (Scrapbook, Vol. I, p. 58.), and which reads: "Orders
received from India direct to establish a philosophico-religious Society
and choose a name for it - also to choose Olcott. July, 1875." We
reproduce a facsimile of this notation.

As regards the second organizational meeting of the newly-formed Society,
held September 8th, we have Minutes thereof signed by both Col. Olcott
and William Quan Judge. Our reproduction of it gives all necessary facts.

On September 8th, another meeting was held at the same
address, during which the name of The Theosophical Society was agreed
upon (H.S. Olcott, Historical
Retrospect, p. 2.). It is not definitely known how this particular
name was chosen. As a term, "Theosophical" occurs in the title
of the Theosophical Transactions issued by the Philadelphian Society
of London in 1697, and in the writings of Jacob Boehme. "Theosophical
Seminary" is an expression which H.P.B. used in July of 1875, in
her article "A Few Questions to 'Hiraf'." Even if used here
and there, throughout the mystical literature prior to H.P.B.'s days,
it certainly was but little known to the general public. [11]

Between September 15 and October 12, H.P.B. visited Professor and Mrs.
Hiram Corson at Ithaca, N.Y., where she spent most of her time writing
text for a book which was only partially outlined in her mind.

After two more meetings, held on October 16th and 30th, at the home
of Mrs. Emma Harding-Britten, 206 West 38th Street, New York, at which
the final draft of the Bylaws was adopted, The Theosophical Society was
fully organized.

On November 17th, 1875, the newly-formed organization met at the Mott
Memorial Hall, 64 Madison Avenue, New York, and Col. Henry Steel Olcott
delivered his Inaugural Address as President of the Society. During that
Address, H.P.B. sat among the audience on the North side of the room.

(Further details concerning the formation of the Theosophical Society
and the personalities associated with it, may be found in H. P. Blavatsky's Collected
Writings, Vol. I, pp. 121-125 and the Bio-Bibliographical Appendix.)

*

THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENTL. Gordon Plummer

"There is a very great difference between the Theosophical Movement
and any Theosophical Society. The Movement is moral, ethical, spiritual,
universal, invisible save in effect, and continuous. A Society formed
for theosophical work is a visible organization, an effect, a machine
for conserving energy and putting it to use; it is not nor can it be
universal, nor is it continuous. Organized Theosophical bodies are made
by men for their better co-operation, but, being mere outer shells, they
must change from time to time as human defects come out, as the times
change, and as the great underlying spiritual movement compels such alterations
... One can therefore see that to worship an organization, even though
it be the beloved theosophical one, is to fall down before Form, and
to become the slave once more of that dogmatism which our portion of
the Theosophical Movement, the Theosophical Society, was meant to overthrow
... H.P.B. herself declared that it were better to do away with the Society
rather than to destroy Brotherhood ..." - William Q. Judge, The
Path, Vol. V, August, 1885, pp. 137-39.

One might wonder why such forthright words from the pen of William Quan
Judge should be brought out at a time when Theosophists everywhere are
congratulating themselves on having safely passed the century mark. Is
this not a time to forget, for awhile at least, the trials and tribulations
of the individual Theosophical Societies, and, putting all differences
aside, unite in a spirit of brotherly love, dedicating ourselves to a
furtherance of the noble aims of the Founders?

By all means, this attitude of mind has its place, and is most worthy
at this time. Nevertheless, it would appear that, if we were to think
of the various Theosophical Societies and groups as pearls strung upon
a golden thread, that thread must not be forgotten, for without it, the
pearls would quickly become scattered to the winds.

Let us then consider whence the thread, representing the Theosophical
Movement. Upon closer examination, though the pearls may be numbered,
the thread has neither beginning nor end. Its origin, if indeed there
was an [12] origin, is lost in antiquity, and more than that,
for antiquity is measured in Time. It is lost in the vast inner reaches
of Divine Consciousness, for it extends to the very Heart of the Universe.
And what of the end? The thread extending far into the future? That too,
is lost in the very Heart of the Universe.

And is this Heart of the Universe so very far off? What do we mean by "far
off"? Nothing, really, for it is an illusion. The Heart of the Universe
knows no boundaries either of place or time. We are within it, for in
it we live, move and have our being.

Why should something of such cosmic dimensions result in the groupings
of people scattered throughout the world? Why here and now? Is it because
the turning of the cycles has brought a more propitious time for the
promulgation of certain ideas which we set forth as Theosophy? If this
were the case, why were there certain Teachers to which all Theosophists
look as the Founders? What had prepared them to act at this particular
time? Must there not have been some precedent cause for the work that
has been done during this century?

It becomes evident to the thoughtful student that the more deeply he
probes into the structure of Man and Nature, applying the master-key
of analogy, seeing thereby Man as a Microcosm of Macrocosm, and that
what is above is the Macrocosm, and that what is above is to be found
below, and vice versa, he is forced to the realization that the Brotherhood
of the Adepts who initiated the work in its outward form is neither more
nor less than an important part of a great hierarchy that reaches into
the very framework of the inner planes of consciousness. Through this
Brotherhood, we are in constant touch with powerful spiritual energies,
the true nature of which our somewhat limited human faculties cannot
conceive.

It has been said that if life were to be discovered
on other planets of our Solar System, or indeed, if intelligent life
were to be contacted in outer space, our ideas on religion would have
to undergo a complete change. How could we be so egotistical as to think
that of all the worlds which might bear intelligent life, ours alone
deserves the high privilege of the attentions of God so that He sent
to this earth alone "his
only begotten son" to help poor struggling humanity? What a shattering
experience that would be! However, when we consider the Hierarchy of
Compassion as being cosmic in its reaches, the idea is contemplated without
trauma of any kind. It seems to be the most natural thing in the universe
- which is exactly what it is. That portion of it which touches our earth
is minute indeed, relatively speaking, but so powerful that, through
its human agents, it has caused the founding of the Mystery-Schools that
have been known in historic times, and far predating these, in the unrecorded
past. We have been taught that such Mystery-Schools will be founded in
the future. But why the gap between the past and the future? Why are
there no Mystery-Schools at the present time?

Well, who says that there are none? Or that there could not be? If the
Hierarchy of Compassion has been the inspiring energy that caused the
formation of Mystery-Schools in the past, [13] is it any less
powerful today? May we not think of it as the ever-present Mystery-School,
hidden, and unknown for ages sometimes, but ever available to those who
aspire to begin the work anew?

We must ask ourselves the probing question: Are any of the presently
existing Theosophical Societies of such a caliber that they may be called
Mystery-Schools in the true sense of the word?

This question stops us cold. Who today is brash enough to say that the
Theosophical Society to which he belongs is a Mystery-School, and yet
who can point the accusing finger to any other Society, and declare that
it could not possibly be such a school?

What it all boils down to, as it appears to me, is that each and every
one of the Theosophical Societies, and furthermore, each and every individual,
whether belonging to an organized society or not, can constitute itself
or himself a Mystery-School in some degree. This will be determined by
his ability to enshrine in his own heart and mind, and to exemplify in
his own life, the spiritual power which is the very essence of the Theosophical
Movement. No one can judge another, in the final analysis, but we can
set our standards in terms of the kind of work that we are doing. Have
the teachings that we have supported and promulgated run true to that
high motto given us by H. P. Blavatsky: "There is no religion higher
than Truth"?

*

ECHOES OF THE ORIENT
THE WRITINGS OF WILLIAM QUAN JUDGE

The first Volume of a series bearing this title will be published in
the Fall of this year by Point Loma Publications, Inc., of San Diego.

It will consist of the Editorials, Essays, and Articles written by Mr.
Judge for his magazine, The Path. It will include all of his Occult
Tales, only one of which originally appeared in The Theosophist.
A substantial account of Mr. Judge's Life and Work, fully documented,
will be the opening Section of this Volume.

The teachings outlined by Mr. Judge are as practical today as when they
were written, and present the noble ethical principles and precepts of
the Ancient Wisdom in simple and appealing language, and with a minimum
of technicalities.

The student will find in this initial Volume many valuable explanations
about such subjects as: Concentration, Occult Powers, Cycles, Hypnotism,
the Nature of Occultism, Practical Theosophy, Why Yoga Practice is Dangerous,
the Mahatmas as Ideals and Facts, Metaphysical Healing, Astral Intoxication,
the Synthesis of Occult Science, and others.

The Volume, containing over 600 pages, will be illustrated and fully
indexed. It will be available for sale, direct from Point Loma Publications,
Inc., on or about October 1st, and its price will be $7.00. [14]

*

WHO ARE WE?Vonda Urban

Shakespeare envisioned the great Mayavic illusion through which we pass
in life after life, with one majestic sweep which be pronounced in his
immortal lines: "All the world's a stage; and all the men and women
in it merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and
one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages" ...

For thus it is that each of us appears upon the stage of every lifetime,
the featured actor, living through another sequence in the never ending
drama that we forever write. We move within the setting of a changing
photo play, following the quest of our scenario to play the part as we
have cast it, using a wide array of personalities and many special props
with which to make impressions; but whatever be the mask that we may
wear in any lifetime, it is a thin veneer of make-up that cannot disguise
our naked character nor hide completely what is real in us from the illusionary
trappings of the settings that surround us.

Our narrative unfolds within the acts and scenes that blend one day
into another, revealing what we really are, shaping what we shall become;
for today is but the link of continuity that merges yesterday into tomorrow;
and all of this is moulded by the part we choose to play; and even more,
our understanding of the other players in the cast forever passing through
our script, whose stories melt into our own with overlay of play with
in a play.

Each scene is set against the backdrop of a living tapestry whose gossamer
threads are spun out of the longings in our soul, as, strand by strand,
our motivations weave their evanescent fibers into Karma; and all the
deeds that we commit, though they be base or beautiful, leave imprints
of their coloring upon a mystic screen, reflecting there, in one montage,
the essence of our being. This is the fabric of our character stained
with selfishness, that dims our sight and dulls out senses to reality;
this is the garment of our human ego, groping upward through its childish
immaturity; this is the channel of our higher self, when shafts of Spiritual
Light pierce through it, guiding us in noble deeds; this is the actor
writing the drama of his Karma upon the stage of time, moving ever onward,
throughout eternity.

When the final curtain closes the performance of each lifetime, to retire
the weary actor, we lay aside this mortal personality, withdrawing from
illusionary worlds of action, for a rest within our higher self and contemplation
on the lessons garnered from our earthly strivings. The costumes, now
discarded, will unravel and, in time, their changing shades and textures
will become a new material, fashioning the garments of our human soul
when it again descends into the world of causes for another lesson in
humanity.

Somewhere within the deep, mysterious realms beyond our consciousness
are hidden all the phantoms of each personality that we have ever been;
and from the hoary vaults of time, they haunt us still; for there they
hang - these records of our continuity - like garish baubles or like
brilliant gems, all threaded onto our Sutratman. [15]

Their silenced voices echo still, in decibels of harmony and discord,
through endless chains of actions and reactions; their vanished memories
live on in fires that burn within our soul.

We have in our careers throughout innumerable lifetimes played many
parts, and do so still; for we are many selves imprisoned in the flesh
that binds us to terrestrial sensations; lost in the bedazzling allurement
of desires and passions, in whose grip we move like puppets on a string
manipulated by our Skandhas. We chase enchanted rainbows of illusion
whose opulent magnificence promises fulfilment of our cherished dreams,
only to watch them change into sullied mires of painful agony; for we
cannot see that the iridescent sparkle that so charms our fancy is but
the glistening of our tears, or the flashing colors that we fight to
capture, but the bleeding of our passions, until the veils of Maya have
been rent by our suffering to expose the true from the illusory, as our
bubbles burst into reality.

The pain, the anguish, the shattered hopes and broken dreams are only
birth pangs of maturity burning away material dross that clouds the noble
vision in our soul; opening it to hear the promptings from our Higher
Self, whose Spiritual Alchemy transmutes our personal selfishness into
compassion as, slowly, we begin to learn our lesson in humanity; for
as our consciousness becomes ensouled with radiance reflected from our
Spiritual Self, and harmonizes with the Universal Oneness in reverence
for all that lives, we reach out to our fellow man in brotherhood to
help him upward through his careworn way.

Who are we now? How do we shape this fleeting wisp of
mortal life? What purpose do we give it? Are we but drifting aimlessly
upon our tide of Karmic destiny still caught in undertows of our compulsions?
Or has a long career of suffering lifetimes seasoned our perception to
understand, at last, that we must mould our character with goodness and
choose with care the role that we will play? To write our script in Golden
Precepts, intoning warm sincerity and kindness in the words we say; and
so to live, that all our scenes will flow into one vast array of harmony
and beauty, whose noble actions issue from the life within our soul touched
with the flame of Universal Love!

*

THEOSOPHICAL WORLD CONGRESS IN NEW YORK

The One Hundredth Anniversary of the founding of The Theosophical Society
at New York, November 17, 1875, will be commemorated this year at a World
Congress to be held at the Statler Hilton Hotel, New York, November 14-20,
1975.
Many members of various Theosophical Organizations, as well as students with
no definite affiliation, are expected to attend.
There will be a comprehensive display of Theosophical literature published
by the Theosophical Publishing Houses and allied bodies, in several languages.
All currently published books and magazines will be available for purchase.
While most delegates will stay at the Statler Hilton, those who desire more
moderately priced accommodations may secure a list by writing to the Centenary
Congress Registrar, P.O. Box 270, Wheaton, Ill., 60187. Information on the
program and other details may be obtained from the same source. [16]

Long out of print, this work outlines some of the more striking landmarks
in the stormy history of the modern Theosophical Movement, and the many-faced
character of its chief founder, H. P. Blavatsky.
The author - a man of unique honesty, sincerity and devotion to Theosophy -
covers the ground with penetrating insight and impersonality. Avoiding bias
and worship of personalities, the story unfolds a fascinating panorama of Blavatsky's
many-sided life and its powerful effect upon the contemporary stage-setting.
A valuable and well-documented work which every student of Theosophy should
own.
Paperback. 463 pages; illustrated and indexed. Price: $7.00.
Order direct from: Point Loma Publications. Inc. P.O. Box 9966, San Diego,
CA, 92109.

A most readable biographical sketch of the controversial H.P.B. who
even today is a ready subject for arguments and discussion pro and con.
The author, a journalist by profession, has produced a story not lacking
in suspense, yet adequately documented and true to facts.
Written for the general public, the book presents a fast-moving picture of
the early days of the Movement and the many vicissitudes in the life of its
founder and inspirer.
328 pages; illustrated and indexed. Price: $8.95 clothbound; $3.50 paperback.
Order from The Theosophical Publishing House, P.O. Box 270, Wheaton. Ill. 60187.

DISCLAIMER: Due to our limited resources the
absolutely clear license to use this issue of "Theosophia" has
not been fully established. We are operating under a well founded
presumption of Public Domain usage, but such has not been finally
determined. Therefore, please notify us of possible copyright
infringement.